OVERDOSES GET KIDS ATTENTION

Victoria MacFayden doesn't need to pay attention to any more "boring"
drug prevention lectures after seeing one of four teens who overdosed
on what they thought was ecstasy Tuesday night.

"We get the talk every year and no one really listens to it," said
the 13-year-old Grade 8 Colquitz Middle School student. "But I saw
one kid and her face was all torn up. I thought she'd been in a
fight. The kids thought there were bugs all over them. They were
really freaked out."

"Some people were crying," said her friend Shae Mellors, 13. "It
scares you so bad."

Yesterday, Colquitz principal Brett Johnson tried to calm those fears
at school assemblies, telling the 630 students what happened to the
teens, aged 13 and 14, in Cuthbert Holmes Park near the Silver City
cinema complex that night.

"It's important that the community gets the message that something is
being done about this," said Johnson. "For us, this is not about
sensationalism. It's about a group of vulnerable teenage kids who got
themselves into a situation I'm sure they regret, that's not typical
for this age group."

A family and youth counsellor has been brought in to talk to
students, said Johnson. Some of the students, who were not
emotionally ready to be at school, were sent home. Johnson also sent
a letter home to parents -- which he hopes they receive.

Saanich investigators are working on a slew of tips from parents as
they try to find out who's supplying the young teens with drugs, said Price.

On Tuesday, a group of about 25 teens from Colquitz and Spectrum
Community School, went to the park near Silver City. Some older kids
were there and one had a bag of pills, Johnson said.

"The kids were told they were taking ecstasy. It turned out to be
crystal meth. The pills were passed out ... Some kids, who had no
idea of the power of the drug, consumed up to 12 pills," Johnson said.

One youth, who saw his friends in distress, called 911 about 5 p.m.
Ambulance and police took two overdosing teens to hospital. An hour
later, a 13-year-old boy who was ripping off his clothes and tearing
at his face, was picked up at Tillicum Mall and taken to hospital. A
fourth girl walked to hospital and admitted herself.

Another Colquitz student, a 14-year-old girl who was also at the park
that night, was missing all day Wednesday. She was found and is now
safe at home.

Johnson urged the students to stand up to peer pressure, and told
them people who cook up designer drugs -- which are available for
less than the price of a package of cigarettes -- don't care if they
live or die.

"They're just out to make gobs of money."

The principal said he had talked to the four students who overdosed
and they wanted him to pass on a message.

"You know these kids," said Johnson. "They are some of our coolest,
toughest kids. Are they scared right now? Scared right to the very
core of who they are. They saw some things that they never really
should have, and it's going to stick with them the rest of their
lives. And it has really scared them. It got very real for these guys."

Johnson said he wanted the kids to learn from their friends' mistakes.

"I want you to say 'I know somebody, he's OK, thank God, but it could
have been much worse.' "

Spectrum principal Judy Harrison said her students and their parents
are curious about what happened, and the school is doing its best to
keep them informed. One of the students who overdosed came back to
school Wednesday. Another is still at home, feeling the effects.

"There's an agitation, a variety of feelings. There's worry," said
Harrison. "But when I go into a classroom, they're focused and
working." Counselling is in place for those who want it.

"We can warn kids about drugs and the majority get it," said
Harrison. "These people may be the ones who teach us a lesson."